


Help Is On The Way

by Annide



Series: Febuwhump [7]
Category: 9-1-1 (TV)
Genre: Buried Alive, Car Accidents, F/M, Hurt/Comfort, Memory Loss
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-24
Updated: 2021-02-24
Packaged: 2021-03-19 01:42:17
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,600
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29499756
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Annide/pseuds/Annide
Summary: Maddie wakes up in Chimney's car. It is sinking inside a muddy lake and she has no memory of what happened.
Relationships: Maddie Buckley/Howie "Chimney" Han
Series: Febuwhump [7]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2116785
Comments: 10
Kudos: 12





	Help Is On The Way

**Author's Note:**

  * For [MaddieandChimney](https://archiveofourown.org/users/MaddieandChimney/gifts).



> Written for Febuwhump day 24: memory loss. Requested by [Maddie](https://archiveofourown.org/users/MaddieandChimney)

It was mostly dark around her when she woke up. Some light came from behind her, but it seemed to be slowly dimming. She was in the passenger seat of Chimney’s car, but she couldn’t remember why. How did she get there? The last thing she remembered was being greeted by Josh as she got to work. But the car’s clock indicated that it was 8:34, less than an hour after she’d get off in the morning. It didn’t make any sense. Where did the night go?

Talking of which, if it was morning, why was it so dark? She couldn’t see anything through the windshield or the window next to her. It was particularly strange, because if it was this dark out, the car’s lights would be on. She turned towards the back. The sun came in through all the windows there.

It took a minute for her eyes to adjust, but then she was able to see. They were in some kind of muddy lake. She could see tire tracks in the dirt on the shore, leading right to where they were. The car was slowly sinking down, getting progressively more covered. Soon, they’d be buried alive down here, in the dark, with no way out. Already, they were too deep for any hope to open the doors. Maybe they could break the back window and hopefully cross to safety without sinking themselves?

...

Maddie sat in what looked like Chimney’s car. She could see it was sinking down into a muddy lake. The backseat’s windows were halfway covered. From this angle, down within the lake, she could see the shore well. It was too far to reach even if they could make it out of the car.

She turned back to the front. The clock said 8:41. Strange, since the last thing she remembered was getting to work on time for her night shift, with Josh waiting for her with a freshly brewed cup of coffee. How did she get here? An accident, obviously, but what happened to the past nearly thirteen hours she lost? Her head was hurting so she lifted her hand up to it. She could feel a wound there, and her fingers came back wet with blood.

She was hurt and they were sinking down. She needed to do something. Her mind felt foggy, she was struggling to order her thoughts and process everything. What should she start with? Help. She reached into her pocket for her phone. Luckily enough, she had a signal.

“911, what’s your emergency?”

“May?”

“Maddie? What happened? How can I help?”

“I’ve been in an accident, the car is sinking into a muddy lake.”

“Do you know where you are?”

“No, I don’t remember how it happened. I don’t remember anything since yesterday.”

“Alright, stay calm, it might just be shock or something. I’ll have your call traced and we’ll find you. Are you injured?”

“My head hurts and it’s bleeding a little. Also, my ears are ringing and my mind feels foggy.”

She stopped to do a quick check of herself to see if there was anything else. She knew how important it was to give the dispatcher as accurate a picture of the situation as possible.

...

Maddie sat in Chimney’s car. It was dark despite the clock indicating 8:48. She tried to remember how she got there, or how it could be morning when she had no memory of her night shift past Josh asking how she was doing. She was about to assess the situation when she noticed her phone in her hand. She had it on speaker and the number on it said 9-1-1. Shouldn’t she remember making that call? But things in her head were so foggy.

“Maddie? Maddie! Are you still there?”

“May? Is that you? What’s going on? I don’t remember calling you.”

“You don’t? This is worse than I thought.” It was evident that May was doing her best to keep herself calm, as Maddie had taught her, but there was the slightest hint of a shake in her voice betraying her. “Listen, you were in an accident. You told me the car is sinking into a muddy lake. Now, tell me, how deep are you?”

“It... what?” She turned and saw through the back window that May was right. “The back window is still clear, but I don’t think it’ll stay that way long.”

“I’ll alert rescue. We’ve located you and they’re on the way. Now, before the exhaust pipe gets clogged by the mud, I need you to turn the car off. The car can fill up with carbon monoxide really quickly and you could lose consciousness. We need you to buy as much time as possible for firefighters to pull the car out of there.”

Maddie reached toward the key and turned the engine off. Chimney was slumped against the steering wheel. She couldn’t believe she hadn’t thought of him right away, but then that ringing in her ears was pretty overwhelming.

“It’s done, but Howie’s unconscious, I’ll try to wake him up.”

“That was the next thing I was going to ask about. When we ran into each other this morning, you told me Chimney was picking you up. It hasn’t been that long so I assumed he was driving.”

Maddie shook Chimney’s shoulder carefully. She was worried about hurting him if he’d been injured.

“Howie. Howie, wake up.”

“Mmmm.”

“Howie, we’ve been in an accident. The car is sinking. I need you to wake up. Please.”

Chimney slowly opened his eyes and lifted himself up, coughing as he did so. He looked around to take in his surroundings, his eyes widened at the sight from the back. Then he turned back to Maddie, his right hand reaching toward the wound on her forehead.

...

Maddie sat in the passenger seat of Chimney’s car. His hand was on her temple and he was making a face. The car was off so she took a look at the time on her phone she had in her hand, 8:55. That had to be wrong. She’d just gotten to work and made small talk with Josh over coffee. He was telling her something about his neighbour and then nothing. She drew a complete blank trying to remember how she got from there to here.

It was really dark in here. There was only a glimpse of sunlight pouring in from the back window. As her eyes adjusted to the brightness, she could see it was mud covering most of it, except for a last circle quickly diminishing in size.

“Looks like a superficial wound. But I wouldn’t rule out a concussion,” Chimney said and Maddie realised her phone was set on speaker with 9-1-1.

“I think it might be worse than that. I don’t mean to alarm you, because I need you to stay calm, but-”

“Is that May? Howie, what happened?”

“-Maddie’s memory seems to have been affected.”

Chimney’s eyes widened. He took a deep breath to calm himself and answered.

“We were in an accident, Maddie. I picked you up from work and we were driving home, but there was this truck that had spilled oil all over the road. When I tried to avoid it, I lost control of the car and it skidded off until we ended up here. This is all my fault, I’m so sorry.”

“Howie, no, it’s not your fault, these things happen.”

She reached over to put her hand on his right arm and squeeze it in comfort.

“Are you okay? Your arm looks bad, and your face looks like you got punched,” she asked.

Chimney looked at himself in the mirror, then looked down at his left arm. His hand looked burned and the wrist was swollen.

“I think my hand got hurt by the airbag deploying, it probably got thrown into my face too. The burns don’t look too severe. I might have some chest contusions from the airbag, and since I lost consciousness I definitely need to get checked for a concussion or something. But I think I’ll be fine, it’s all treatable. I’m more worried about the fact we’re slowly getting buried alive here.”

“Like I told Maddie, before she forgot, I’ve successfully traced the call and rescue is on the way. I think we need to talk about conserving oxygen. Because even once the 136 makes it to the scene, it could take a while for them to pull you out. We have to work together to make sure both of you can make it that long.”

...

“I’ve been trained to use up air slower, I can teach Maddie.”

“Good, and maybe you could lower the backseat so the air from the trunk gets to you easier?”

Maddie sat in Chimney’s car. Her phone was in her hand, their only light source, the clock indicating 9:02. Chimney was talking to May who was doing her dispatcher job. How could this be? She was just at work, walking with Josh towards their stations, and yet somehow it was morning now? That wasn’t the most concerning thing, however. Chimney’s hand looked severely damaged, likely a side effect of the airbags she could see had deployed in front of both of them.

“Howie, you’re hurt.”

“Yeah... We were in an accident, I’m sorry.”

“I can’t remember my shift or leaving the dispatch center, nothing. But we can figure that out later, your hand needs taking care of.”

Her head hurt and her ears were ringing. The more she tried to remember, the more it felt like her mind was filled with fog.

“It’s fine, Maddie, we have bigger concerns, like the fact we’re essentially buried alive down here.”

“I heard you talking to May just now, so I assume help is on the way.”

“Yes, but-”

“There isn’t much we can do while we wait for them. So we should tend to injuries, starting with your hand.”

Chimney let out a sigh, but he relaxed against his seat and let Maddie take his hand. She reached down under her seat for the first aid kit he kept there. She knew there was a more comprehensive emergency bag in the trunk, but this would do. If they really were buried alive, they should avoid exhausting themselves and move as little as possible to keep their breathing steady.

She could feel Chimney’s loving stare as she carefully put lotion on and wrapped his burned hand. It felt good to do something. The productivity helped her stay calm in a situation that seemed pretty dire. She was scared and confused. She was missing so much time, it worried her about the seriousness of her head injury. She needed a doctor soon, not to mention, their air supply in here was limited, what if rescue didn’t come in time?

“Maddie, hey, Maddie, slow deep breaths, alright? You’re breathing too fast. I know it’s scary, but I am right here and we will get through this together. Just breathe.”

...

Maddie could feel her heart pumping and she took a few deep breaths to calm herself down. She was in Chimney’s car, somehow completely dark, with her phone as the sole source of light. It was 9:09, it didn’t make any sense for them to barely be able to see anything. The sun should be shining brightly up in the sky. The weather forecast hadn’t said anything different.

As she stared into her boyfriend’s eyes, confused as to how she made it from playful start of shift greetings with Josh to here, she felt a sense of safety fill her. Many times before she’d been in bad and scary situations, but she knew that as long as they were by each other’s side, it would be alright. By now, she believed they could face any storm together.

She was holding Chimney’s wrapped hand in hers, all the supplies for it on her lap. Then she realised. She must’ve done so. And it was her phone on the line with 9-1-1, not his, so she must’ve been the one to call as well. Everything about their positions only made sense if they had been at this for a while.

“Howie... Did I wrap your hand? Am I the one who called for help? I can’t remember, but I think I might?”

“You did.”

The way he spoke was calm, but his eyes were curious.

“How many times have I forgotten what’s happening?”

“This is the fourth time since we’ve been on the phone together,” May said, “but this is the first time you’ve become aware of it.”

“So, I could’ve forgotten several times before I called you and we wouldn’t know?”

“I don’t think so. You still hadn’t woken Chimney up when you called, and the car was only halfway into the mud when you first told me how deep it was. There couldn’t have passed that long since the accident.”

“Don’t worry, Maddie, I’m sure this is just temporary.”

“Good news, I’ve just gotten an update from the 136, they are on site. Hang on, it’ll be just a little while longer.”

“Have I told you, May, that you are an amazing dispatcher? I’m so proud of you.”

“Thank you, Maddie. It means a lot coming from you. You’ve taught me so much.”

“I’m sad that I won’t remember this.”

“I’ll remind you,” Chimney said, “just like I will always remind you how much I love you.”

Silence filled the car, the atmosphere heavy with expectation as the 136 surely worked as hard as they could to find the car and pull it out.

...

Maddie sat in Chimney’s dark car, her phone indicating 9:16. They were hands in hands and Chimney was looking at her so softly, it almost took away the thought that something had gone terribly wrong. Her last memory was of sitting at her desk and sharing her usual ‘here we go’ look with Josh before taking on the day. She didn’t remember her shift, and while she knew Chimney was coming to pick her up, it had been too long. Even with the LA traffic, they should’ve made it home by now.

“Where are we? Why is it so dark?”

“In a muddy lake. We were in an accident and sunk in here, but don’t worry, rescue’s here.”

Just as Chimney finished saying that, she felt the car moving. She looked to the back as they made their way slowly up and squeezed his hand. They smiled at each other. She could see the relief all over his expression. She knew him enough to know the face he was making. It was the one he made whenever he was really worried, trying to hide it, but suddenly felt a surge of hope.

She didn’t know how long they’d been down here. From how calm and dreary his voice had sounded, she guessed a while. She hated that she couldn’t remember anything from the past thirteen hours, but it might be better that way. She couldn’t imagine what it must’ve been like down here, not knowing how long it would take for rescue to get here, or if it would even reach them before they ran out of air.

Chimney had always been so strong and steady. Always there for her, always so patient. She had never been happier than by his side. Never safer.

“We’re getting pulled out now,” Chimney said, taking the phone into his hand, “Thank you, May, you’ve been a great help. But I think we’ll be good now, you can move to another call. Someone else needs you more than we do.”

“Alright, I’m happy to hear help is there. Good luck with the rest of this. Bye.”

“Goodbye, May,” Maddie said.

She couldn’t remember anything that had happened, but she could tell by Chimney’s tone that May’s help had been valuable and that it probably hadn’t been an easy call. But May’s voice didn’t betray any of the feelings she surely had, perfectly focused on being their lifeline, and Maddie couldn’t help being proud of her.

...

Light was pouring slowly into Chimney’s car from the back window. Maddie sat in the front, holding his hands, and he smiled at her. She could see her phone indicating 9:23 before he slipped it in his pocket. She had no memory of how they’d ended up there or of anything that happened throughout her shift. She wanted to ask, but she decided to enjoy the joy Chimney felt about being pulled out of that muddy lake. She preferred sharing that feeling as they watched mud progressively dip down the windows to let the sun shine on them.

Whatever happened, the only thing that mattered now was that they made it through together. They were alive; everything else could be dealt with later.

...

Maddie sat inside an ambulance, next to Chimney. His car stood on the edge of a muddy lake, dripping mud, one door opened and the other pried off. A paramedic was examining Chimney, undoing a bandage Maddie must’ve done. He was being difficult, constantly asking them to check her out first.

She looked over herself and found a wound on her head. A concerning injury, especially paired with the fact she couldn’t remember anything past the start of her shift enough hours ago that the sun that had been set then was now shining brightly. She also had a headache, her ears were ringing and she felt nausea coming on. However, even if it was serious, it was nothing paramedics could do much about, beyond giving her something to throw up in, whereas the burns she could now see on Chimney’s hand could be treated here before they went to the hospital.

She found her phone in Chimney’s shirt pocket and pulled it out. It was 9:30. She should text her brother while she was here waiting. The three of them were supposed to have brunch and Buck would be heading to the restaurant anytime now. The last thing she wanted was for him to sit alone at a table waiting for people who would never come.

“So, I talked with Buck. He is headed to the hospital with Albert right now, and I think you’ll be on your way there very soon.” Lena Bosko walked over to them.

“You called Buck?”

Maddie was grateful to her for it. She didn’t want him to worry.

“Yes, I figured you had a lot on your mind, but would want him to know what happened. That’s okay, right?”

“Of course, thank you, I was just about to get in touch with him.”

Lena smiled, asked how they were doing and went back to her work. Chimney wrapped his arm around Maddie while she got checked out by the paramedics, then they left for the hospital.

...

It was almost noon now. Maddie was lying down in a hospital bed. Chimney and Albert sat on chairs by her side, and Buck was right by her feet, fidgeting with a fold in the blanket. The doctor had been in over an hour ago with the result of her CT scan and other tests. She had a pretty bad concussion, but they were confident she would make a full recovery. They even thought she’d regain her memories from before the accident, but she might never remember everything that happened after they left the road.

They would keep her for observation for the next twenty-four hours, then she could go home where she’d need to get plenty of rest before gradually going back to her normal routine. Chimney would also have to stay home for a while. In addition to a sprained wrist and burns on his hand, he also had chest contusions.

“I don’t know what I would’ve done if you hadn’t been okay. I can’t ever lose you.”

“Remind me again which one of us has ended up in the hospital the most? I can’t lose you either, Evan.”

“You know what,” Chimney said, “maybe the Buckley siblings need to stop getting hurt. I think we could all do with a break from that.”

“You have plenty of scars of your own. Look at your arm, that's a bad one.”

“At least we get to keep each other company while we recover this time,” he smiled. “I don’t know what happened, I was scar-free until the rebar.”

“This is what my life will be from now on, isn’t it?” Albert sighed. “I left the boring Han family for a family that will make me spend lots of time in the hospital. This doesn’t feel less exhausting than the pressure I used to be under.”

“Yes, but it always turns out fine,” Buck said. “And we really are family, the kind who’s actually there for each other because we care about and love each other.”

“And we won’t ever give up on you,” Chimney added.

Maddie smiled. This really was her family, the one she had always dreamed about. Things weren’t always perfect, but they did always have each other’s backs. She reached over and took Chimney’s hand in hers. It had taken a long time to get here, but she was happy. And no matter what happened, she knew they would all do everything in their power to get back to each other.

Watching Chimney sitting by her side, talking with her brother, filled her with joy. She felt like the two of them found each other, like they were always meant to be together. And she was looking forward to a lifetime with him.


End file.
